BILL NUMBER: AB 2607 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ting
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act relating to public safety. to amend
Sections 18150, 18170, and 18190 of the Penal Code, relating to
firearms.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2607, as amended, Ting. Public safety.
Firearm restraining orders.
Existing law authorizes a court to issue an ex parte gun violence
restraining order prohibiting the subject of the petition from having
in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or
receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive, a firearm or
ammunition when it is shown that there is a substantial likelihood
that the subject of the petition poses a significant danger of harm
to himself, herself, or another in the near future by having in his
or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or
receiving a firearm, and that the order is necessary to prevent
personal injury to himself, herself, or another, as specified.
Existing law requires the ex parte order to expire no later than 21
days after the date on the order. Existing law also authorizes a
court to issue a gun violence restraining order prohibiting the
subject of the petition from having in his or her custody or control,
owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving, or attempting to
purchase or receive, a firearm or ammunition for a period of one year
when there is clear and convincing evidence that the subject of the
petition, or a person subject to an ex parte gun violence restraining
order, as applicable, poses a significant danger of personal injury
to himself, herself, or another by having in his or her custody or
control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm, and
that the order is necessary to prevent personal injury to himself,
herself, or another, as specified. Existing law authorizes renewal of
a gun violence restraining order within 3 months of the order's
expiration. Petitions for ex parte, one-year, and renewed gun
violence restraining orders may be made by an immediate family member
of the person or by a law enforcement officer.
This bill would also authorize an employer, a coworker, a mental
health worker who has seen the person as a patient in the last 6
months, or an employee of a secondary or postsecondary school that
the person has attended in the last 6 months to file a petition for
an ex parte, one-year, or renewed gun violence restraining order.
This bill would also specify that these provisions shall not be
construed to require any of those persons to seek a gun violence
restraining order.
Existing law, as set forth in the Constitution of the United
States and the California Constitution, establishes certain
fundamental personal rights, including, among others, the right of
the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects
against unreasonable seizures and searches, the right to equal
protection of the laws, the right to due process of law before being
deprived of life, liberty, or property, the right to a trial by a
jury, and the right of a defendant in a criminal case to a speedy
public trial.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would ensure that California's public safety system
is fair and just.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 18150 of the Penal
Code is amended to read:
18150. (a) (1) An immediate family member of a person
member, an employer, a coworker, a mental health
worker who has seen the person as a patient in the prior six months,
an employee of a secondary or postsecondary school that the person
has attended in the last six months, or a law enforcement
officer may file a petition requesting that the court issue an ex
parte gun violence restraining order enjoining the subject of the
petition from having in his or her custody or control, owning,
purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "immediate family member"
has the same meaning as in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of
Section 422.4.
(3) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a person
described in paragraph (1) to seek a gun violence restraining order.
(b) A court may issue an ex parte gun violence restraining order
if the petition, supported by an affidavit made in writing and signed
by the petitioner under oath, or an oral statement taken pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 18155, and any additional information
provided to the court shows that there is a substantial likelihood
that both of the following are true:
(1) The subject of the petition poses a significant danger, in the
near future, of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or
another by having in his or her custody or control, owning,
purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm as determined by
considering the factors listed in Section 18155.
(2) An ex parte gun violence restraining order is necessary to
prevent personal injury to the subject of the petition or another
because less restrictive alternatives either have been tried and
found to be ineffective, or are inadequate or inappropriate for the
circumstances of the subject of the petition.
(c) An affidavit supporting a petition for the issuance of an ex
parte gun violence restraining order shall set forth the facts
tending to establish the grounds of the petition, or the reason for
believing that they exist.
(d) An ex parte order under this chapter shall be issued or denied
on the same day that the petition is submitted to the court, unless
the petition is filed too late in the day to permit effective review,
in which case the order shall be issued or denied on the next day of
judicial business in sufficient time for the order to be filed that
day with the clerk of the court.
SEC. 2. Section 18170 of the Penal Code
is amended to read:
18170. (a) (1) An immediate family
member of a person member, an employer, a coworker, a
mental health worker who has seen the person as a patient in the
prior six months, an employee of a secondary or postsecondary school
that the person has attended in the last six months, or a law
enforcement officer may request that a court, after notice and a
hearing, issue a gun violence restraining order enjoining the subject
of the petition from having in his or her custody or control,
owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition
for a period of one year.
(2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a person
described in paragraph (1) to seek a gun violence restraining order.
(b) For purposes of this subdivision, "immediate family member"
has the same meaning as in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of
Section 422.4.
SEC. 3. Section 18190 of the Penal Code
is amended to read:
18190. (a) (1) An immediate family member of a restrained
person person, an employer, a coworker, a
mental health worker who has seen the person as a patient in the
prior six months, an employee of a secondary or postsecondary school
that the person has attended in the last six months, or a law
enforcement officer may request a renewal of a gun violence
restraining order at any time within the three months before the
expiration of a gun violence restraining order.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "immediate family member"
has the same meaning as in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of
Section 422.4.
(3) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a person
described in paragraph (1) to seek a gun violence restraining order.
(b) A court may, after notice and a hearing, renew a gun violence
restraining order issued under this chapter if the petitioner proves,
by clear and convincing evidence, that paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 18175 continue to be true.
(c) In determining whether to renew a gun violence restraining
order issued under this chapter, the court shall consider evidence of
the facts identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
18155 and any other evidence of an increased risk for violence,
including, but not limited to, evidence of any of the facts
identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 18155.
(d) At the hearing, the petitioner shall have the burden of
proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subdivision (b) of Section 18175 are true.
(e) If the renewal petition is supported by clear and convincing
evidence, the court shall renew the gun violence restraining order
issued under this chapter.
(f) The renewal of a gun violence restraining order issued
pursuant to this section shall have a duration of one year, subject
to termination by further order of the court at a hearing held
pursuant to Section 18185 and further renewal by further order of the
court pursuant to this section.
(g) A gun violence restraining order renewed pursuant to this
section shall include the information identified in subdivision (a)
of Section 18180.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would ensure that California's public
safety system is fair and just.